The top sporting goods industry performers by sales and profits in Q4 2024

• Sales and profits at a glance  
• All sports apparel firms profitable for second straight quarter
• Footwear segment posts strong RoS despite lower Nike contribution
• Equipment results skewed by Topgolf Callaway
• Diversified/Retail is Q4’s strongest segment
• Q4/24 news highlights from the sporting goods industry
• The SGI Europe Sporting Goods Industry Scorecard Q4 2024
• About these numbers

Sales and profits at a glance  

Aggregate year-over-year sales of 45 publicly traded sporting goods companies increased by 5.1 percent to €50.6 billion, but profitability fell by more than 11.5 percent to €2.19 billion and return on sales declined by 80 basis points to 4.3 percent from 5.1 percent.

Sequentially, Q4 revenues were up 2.2 percent in euros from the prior quarter, but industry profitability was 47 percent lower than in Q3/24, when it hit €4.13 billion. Overall return on sales came in at 4.3 percent this period, down 50 basis points from 4.8 percent in Q4/23.

Thirteen companies generated more than €1 billion in Q4 revenues, led by market leader Nike, which suffered a 7 percent drop in year-over-year sales and a nearly 26 percent decline in quarterly profitability. Seventeen entrants reported a final-period loss, including three-fourths of the equipment firms. Topgolf Callaway had the largest Q4 loss, at more than €1.47 billion, but more than 98 percent of this was related to a goodwill impairment charge. Overall, seven firms reported one-time charges of at least $10 million. This was offset by companies such as VF Corp., Wolverine Worldwide, Foot Locker and Zumiez, which were overlapping large write-downs from the end of 2023.

All sports apparel firms profitable for second straight quarter  

Return on sales for the six-company group was 6.7 percent against 5.2 percent in Q4/23 and 7.6 percent in Q3/24. But segment aggregate revenues were down 1.3 percent year-over-year because of declines at Under Armour, VF Corp. and Canada Goose. The parent of The North Face, Timberland and Vans did account for more than 45 percent of the segment’s aggregate sales.

Footwear segment posts strong RoS despite lower Nike contribution 

Despite its 7 percent decline in year-over-year sales, Nike along with rival Adidas accounted or 58.2 percent of group revenues – a 40-basis-point improvement from Q3/24, when the percentage stood at 57.8 percent. Leading global footwear maker Yue Yuen generated 11.5 percent more sales than in the year-ago period, but its profitability came in 55 percent lower. Overall group profitability was up 19 percent despite reported losses at Adidas, Allbirds and Fila (now Misto). It should be noted, though, that Nike contributed 49.8 percent of the group’s aggregate profit against 79.9 percent in the year-ago period. RoS improved 80 basis points to 7.3 percent from 6.5 percent.

Equipment results skewed by Topgolf Callaway

Profitability in this 16-company group was skewed by the impairment charge at Topgolf Callaway. With Topgolf included in the segment, RoS was -21.4 percent versus -4.4 percent on 4.1 percent revenue growth and a whopping negative 403 percent decline in quarterly profitability. Excluding Topgolf, year-over-year segment RoS improved to essentially flat from a year-ago decline of 3.8 percent on 4.3 percent revenue growth and a 10 percent gain in profitability. It should be noted that 75 percent of segment entrants reported a final-period net loss, but all except Topgolf were below €100 million. Peloton reported a year-on-year loss but improved the figure by more than 52 percent in Q4/24.

Diversified/Retail is Q4’s strongest segment

Year-over-year RoS rose to 13.6 percent from 8.5 percent for this six-company group. Lululemon dominated the segment again, accounting for nearly 44 percent of its revenues and more than 66 percent of its profitability in the period. Two firms, Newell Brands’ outdoor business and XXL ASA, reported losses and lower sales. Foot Locker, meanwhile, turned a profit against a year-ago loss but had a 5 percent revenue decline.

Q4/24 news highlights from the sporting goods industry

• Canada Goose exceeded its revenues and income estimates, as it introduced a “Snow Goose” capsule that is said to “re-imagine the heritage of the brand” through a new lens.
• Adidas, which hit €23.6 billion in 2024 revenues, is using “flexibility” as a strategy and different production lines for the Chinese and US markets. It expects growth in sportswear in 2025.
• Deckers realized a 17.9 percent increase in direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales to $1.01 billion in the quarter.
• Amer Sports’ Arc’teryx is increasingly entering the footwear market. The company’s Technical Apparel segment (Arc’teryx and Peak Performance) accounted for 42 percent of the company’s 2024 revenues.
• Thule acquired Quad Lock, an Australian company specializing in performance phone mounts, in November.
• Foot Locker is planning for 300 more store refreshes and 80 additional “Reimagined” doors in 2025. The retailer had improved gross margin and higher sales comps across banners in Q4.
• Peloton wants to develop “meaningful” adjusted Ebitda and free cash flow growth by right-sizing expenses, which were down by 25 percent year-over-year in the quarter.
• Puma, before its recently announced change of CEO, reported an FY25 outlook in mid-March that was below internal and external expectations.
• Shimano, despite a modest recovery trend for bicycles in 2025, thinks rising resource prices and supply chain disruption caused by logistics stagnation could put downward pressure on the global economy this year.

The SGI Europe Sporting Goods Industry Scorecard Q4 2024

About these numbers

Our Q4 2024 Sporting Goods Industry Scorecard examines top performers by sales and profit for the period ended on or closest to Dec. 31, 2024. If not reported in euros, all entrant revenues have been converted to euros at the average rate for the period, as calculated by fxtop.com.